


The Nightmare

by LycanFox



Category: DC's Legends of Tomorrow (TV)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Happy Ending, M/M, Nightmares, Protective Mick Rory, matchmacker Gidean, takes place after season 2 ep.16 Doomworld
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-15
Updated: 2018-09-15
Packaged: 2019-06-27 14:19:01
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,337
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15687117
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LycanFox/pseuds/LycanFox
Summary: Ray has a nightmareMick just wants to sleepGidean is so done with these two





	The Nightmare

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first fanfic of this pairing but i just finished season three and i love them so much.   
> I was thinking of doing a second part leaning more toward smut but idk, what do you think?  
> P.S. Anyones else as exited as i am about season 4???  
> *Sorry for any mistakes I'm doing this from my phone mostly and it sucks lol*

Mick Rory was notorious for being able to sleep anywhere at anytime, it was usually only on jobs that he made sure to stay awake. It was fairly common to find him in any number of odd places on the Waverider. During their down time, when they weren't busy cleaning up screwups in time, the team would come across him nodding off on deck or in the library. Most often he'd be in the hanger, sprawled across one of the trunks they had stored there, an empty beer bottle (or six) next to him. He was a man of simple means and he liked his sleep but being a criminal all his life meant that just as easily as he dozed off, it was just as easy for him to wake up (most of the time). So even though he was sound asleep in his room one night, that fight or flight response kicked in and he was wide awake and reaching for his heat gun before he even realized what had actually woken him up in the first place. It takes a second for his groggy brain to realize that there isn't any immediate danger and he sets his gun back down next to his bed.

A moment passed and he thought he had just been dreaming untill it happened again, louder this time, a pained cry that sounded as if it were echoing through the vents from one of the other rooms. He focuses his hearing and catches what sounds like someone trying to catch their breath, shuddered and shallow. Another cry echos through his room again and Mick throws his sheet off and rolls onto his back, glaring at the ceiling above him and if looks could kill his ceiling would be crumbling in on his head.

"Gidean, what the hell is going on?" He growled at the A.I. He was not getting out of bed unless someone was about to die and if not then he was going to make it happen.

"It appears to be Dr. Palmer, Mr. Rory." Gidean informs him calmly. Mick huffed out a cures under his breath as he scrubbed both hands over his face before whacking his bed.

"Well, what the hell is he doin?" Of course it was haircut, it always was. This was starting to piss him off. Instead of answering the A.I. projected a holographic screen onto his ceiling, it showed the whole of Rays room. Mick's eyes were drawn to the bed where Palmer was laid out, his sheets had been kicked to the floor revealing the t-shirt and boxers he wore to bed. Even now Mick could see he had sweated through the thin grey shirt that pulled tight across his chest as he shifted in his sleep again. The cut off, shuttering breathes Mick had been able to hear earlier were louder and clearer over the videos audio and now he could hear more of what slipped out under his breath.

"No..no...mick." That caught the pyro's attention, between one beat and the next Palmer had sucked in a deep shuttering breath before a scream tore through him, Mick flinched at the sound and was silently thankful Gidean had automatically lowered the volume for him.

"What's he dreaming about?" Mick asked lowly.

"Mr. Rory, I'm afraid it would be an invasti..."

"He said my name, lady. I don't give a shit about that, why is he dreaming about me?" _Why is he so afraid of me?_ He left unsaid. Sure they had had their differences and Mick had threatened him more times then he could count but he had thought that they had moved past that. That they had become friends. He had seen Palmer face down some of the hardest things in time and make a joke out of it, whatever could make him break out in a cold sweat and scream like a dying man must have been awful. Surely he didn't really think of Mick like that, at least not anymore.

Gidean didn't try to talk him out of it again and simply opened another holograph next to the first one, the screen didn't really tell him anything, it showed Ray crumbled on the ground. He held his head in his hands, bowed over and shacking as sobs recked his body.

Mick sat up in bed and focused on the screen as it shifted in mid-air to settle in front of him, he recognised the scenery as where they had met up with the aberrations of themselves to fight the legion of doom. Of course it had been a hard won fight but what could make haircut have nightmares?

 "Start it from the beginning." He told the A.I, again without speaking Gidean did as he asked. The  video rewound as if it was just a recorded tape or DVD and not what was in someone's head. 

Mick saw himself leaning over Damian Dhark as Snart circled them to stand directly behind the dream version of himself.

"Let me help with that." He heard the dream version of Snart say before a icecicle burst through his chest. He watched his own body fall to the ground, a spike of solid cold ice where his heart had been.

"No! Mick!" Palmer yelled in his dream,  _so I wasn't the one that made him so afraid, good._ Mick had a moment of relief as Snart was blasted after aiming his cold gun at Ray fand the non-aberration him came running into view. However instead of getting Palmer and continuing on the dream shifted what had happened. He watched as his dream self knelt down next to Snart's body and checked for a pulse, then turned hate filled eyes on Palmer. 

"This is your fault." He heard himself growl through gritted teeth. "I had him back, he was back." Mick had seen his own face enough to know that was a look most did live to tell about. 

"Fucking useless, don't even know why your on this team. Can't do anything right." Mick heard his dream self mutter. "Not satisfied with causing his death once, you had to destroy the only chance I had of having him back with us." He didn't know if it was just Ray's nightmare making his voice sound like that or if he really sounded like when he was angry but it was fucking terrifying. Dream Mick picked up the heat gun and leveled it at Ray's head, his eyes full of heart broken rage but just as he was about to pull the trigger and end it everything paused and it was like someone hit rewind again except this time dream Ray was aware of it. As everything started moving forward again Mick could hear Thawne's voice echo throughout the dream. 

"This seems the perfect way to get you out of the way while I deal with the other Legends. Not the most effective but certainly the most entertaining, have fun with your worst fear Dr. Palmer, it's all you'll know for the rest of your life." 

As dream Mick stalked closer Ray's suit seemed to fall apart, crumbling to the ground around him leaving him defenceless as Mick raised the heat gun at him. There was a scream and the nightmare started over again but Mick had seen enough. He rolled off the bed and pulled on a pair of wornout joggers before heading out the door and straight to haircuts room. He stood outside for a moment waiting on the doors to open.

"Gidean. Doors. Now." He growled out and thankfully they slid open without a comment from the A.I. Once he entered the room the doors slid shut leaving him in near complete darkness, the only light coming from Palmer's work station on one side of the room. Mick made his way over to the side of the bed and for a moment just watched Ray fight in his sleep,   _probably trying to get away from dream me_ , Mick thought as he laid a hand on Palmer's sweat soaked shoulder. He lightly shook the sleeping man and when it seemed that didn't do anything he shook him harder. Nothing. Barley  holding back the urge to simply smack haircut awake, Mike tried again with a bit more force. 

"Haircut, wake the hell up." He grumbled under his breath. 

Just as he was about to give in and whack the sleeping scientist Ray jerked awake and away from Mick's hand, eyes darting around wildly as he tried to get as far back as the wall behind him would allow. 

"Whoa, whoa easy, it's just me." He was trying to be calming but it just came out annoyed but it worked and Ray's eyes zeroed in on him. Only instead of calming down like Mick had thought he would Ray's eyes flooded with tears and he started shaking even worse.

"Mi-mick...I'm sor...I'm sorry, I didn't mean....I never thought..." He tried to speak as he struggled to get air in, eyes shut tight against the tears. Now Mick wasn't known for being a touchy-feely type of person, usually his way of showing support was sharing his beer or on occasion clamping a hand on someones shoulder to show them he was there if they needed him. However when he saw Palmer in that moment, shaking, his knees pulled tight up to his chest and seemingly trying to disappear, he knew more was needed to get the genius to calm down. So he did the first thing that came to his mind. 

Kneeling on the bed he reached across to grip Ray's wrist. "Look at me, haircut." He kept his voice low, not wanting to scare the other an again. When Palmer kept his head bowed and his eyes shut Mick tightened the grip he had on his wrist. "Look at me." He words barring no argument and Ray finally opened his eyes, looking up at Mick through his eyelashes.

"You were just havin' a bad dream. Your fine." 

His voice seemed to finally reach Ray as he lifted his head a bit more to look directly at Mick, who watched as realization hit and shock and embarrassment raced across Palmer's face.

"Oh, OH GOD! Mick I am so sorry. I didn't mean to wake you up...I di.." 

"It's fine Haircut." Mick cut him off. They seemed to realize at the same time that Mick still had ahold of Ray's arm, which he dropped in favor of picking up the sheet that had been kicked off while Ray was asleep. "Shove over."  

At first Ray doesn't move and just gives Mick a confused look before what he had said registers and he starts to flail and sputter, everything he wants to say trying to come out at once and tumbling over each other. "Wait. What...you....why would...what would you....why would I? What?" He must still be tired because he runs out of steam after a bit more stuttering and half questions.

Usually Mick would just wack the guy to get him to shut up but there's nothing usual about this situation. If you had told him before he joined this team that he would someday end up in Ray Palmers room in the middle of the night with both of them half dressed while telling said man to let him sleep in his bed, he would have called you insane and decked you one but here he is and that's exactly what's happening.

"I said move over,  you woke me up and I ain't goin' all the way back to my room when I could just crash here." It's what comes out of his mouth and it's the truth, just not the whole truth. He knows what a nightmare like that can do to some one, how even when you know it's all in your head it can still make you see the person the dream was about differently and he doesn't want Ray to go back to hating him. Well it seems like Ray is incapable of actually "hating" anyone but they had just started to get closer and Mick didn't want anything to set them back. Honestly he was hoping to be able to get even closer with the genius, wanted to have him as more then a teammate and more then a friend, over their time together the guy had managed to crawl his way under Mick's skin and into his head. He couldn't say he was surprised, anyone would like the guy, would see the smile that lights up his whole face and makes his eyes shine and want to keep it there forever, anyone that got to know him would sit there for hours as he talks about things nearly no one understands just because he sounds so excited and proud of himself. So it's not really Mick's fault that that's what he's come to, more and more often the two would spend time together, weather it was something as simple as laundry or having a beer to sitting together as they each work on their weapons in companionable silence. It was...nice,  but Mick couldn't deny he did in fact want more, he wanted to be able to reach out and touch the other man whenever he wanted, to slide an arm around his waist and pull him in close, tangle his fingers in that thick dark hair and tug untill his long lean throat was bared to him so he could trail open mouthed kisses from behind his ear to his shard collarbones. Hell he's imagined countless ways they would end up in one or the others beds, sweating and bare chested, this was not that.

Realization dawned Palmer's face followed quickly by a bright blush staining his cheekbones and chest lightly. "Oh, of course, sorry." He mumbled under his breath as he sifted across the bed to the side closest to the wall. Mick debated a bit before fanning the cover out over the other man and folded down the top.

"You should take you're shirt off." I huffed as he shuffled under the covers, normally he slept in the buff but that would probably be to much for haircut tonight. "That ones soaked through, you'll just get cold." He quickly added when Palmer turned to face him so fast he swore he heard a crack.

"Oh, yeah you're probably right." Ray answered before sitting up and pulling the clingy material over his head, giving Mick a full view of the tight lean muscle covered in smooth tan skin, his hand itched to touch but thankfully Ray tossed it across the room to a hamper half full of neatly folded dirty clothes and laid back down. "We'll have to do laundry again soon." He spock to the quiet room and it sounded so domestic that it made Mick's chest squeeze for a second because as much as he thought about pinning Palmer to the nearest flat surface and licking every inch of him untill he was a whimpering, begging mess, there were nearly just as many thoughts of simply being together. Thoughts of wrapping the slim man in his arms as they sat and watched a movie together, of twining their fingers together randomly, of grazing his palm over his neck to feel the steady pump of blood after a fight just to know he's okay.

"Um, yeah, mines gettin' pretty full to." He answered after clearing his throat. Silence washed over them again for a few beats before Mick huffed out a sigh and flipped over, his back toward Ray. "Just get some sleep Haircut." 

A few minutes passed and he thought for a second Palmer was actually falling back asleep. "Thank you, Mick, goodnight." It was spoken so low and soft that for a second he thought it was in his head but then Haircut reached over and lightly brushed his hand over Mick's scarred arm before pulling back and settling in. Soon the older man could hear his breathing even out and it was enough to calm his nerves down so that he slowly felt sleep pulling him under. 

 

The next morning Mick woke to an annoyingly loud beeping coming from somewhere to his left, he swatted at it with his eyes closed and missed, it was getting louder and he was getting even more annoyed. 

"I got it." Said a sleep groggy voice near his right ear before the bed dipped and his eyes shot open when heat washed over his chest. The beeping quit and Mick looked down to see Palmer leaning over him, one hand braced on the bed to Mick's right and he other still on the alarm clock he had just shut off. The position meant he was pressed against Mick from hip to naked chest, the scientist had somehow ended up with all the sheets wrapped around his legs thankfully hiding the reaction his body was having to being practically on top of the fire-starter. The same could not be said for Mick as his wore out jogging pants did nothing to hid the impressive bulge at the front of them. Ray jerked back quickly not wanting to get kicked out of his own bed, sure they were closer now but that didn't mean the other man wanted him all over him first thing in the morning, not that  _he_ wanted that...nope...not at all...well....okay he wanted to strip Mick and ride him like a Dallas bull but that was besides the point.

"M-moring." Palmer tried in a cheerful voice.

"Mornin'." Mick grunted as he shifted to sit at the edge of the bed, a poor attempt to hide the effect Ray had on him.

"So, um....how did you know?" 

"Know what?"t 

"About the...the dream."

Mick let out a long sigh and figured what the hell might as well tell him the truth. "I heard you yellin' and asked Gidean what was wrong, she said you were having a nightmare so I asked her to show me..."

"Wait, so you saw, so you know what I dreamed about last night?" Palmer asked his voice shaking.

Before he spoke again Mick turned to look Ray in the eye. "It ain't your fault, Snart made his choice, you don't have anything to feel guilty about. You were willing to give up your life the same way."

"But you stopped me.."

"And Snart stopped me, that's what you do for people you care about..." He trails off realizing what he had said.

"Can I ask you something and  **not** get punched in the face?"

Mick nods hoping like hell it's not about the him caring thing, cause if he was asked about the way he feels toward Ray right now, in the quiet calm of this room, he would tell him everything.

"You and Snart.....were you?" He leaves the question open ended but Mick knows what he means and it makes him reach for the ring he has a chain hooped through and around his neck and he finds a spot on the floor to focus on as he speaks a truth very few people in his life knew.

"When we were younger, then off and on again over the years. He was the closest person to family I had. If I ever thought I'd settle down I thought he'd be...." He trails off because its getting hard to talk about and he doesn't want one of the few times he's opened up about his old partner to end in him breaking down.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to.."

"It's fine." He cuts in. "One thing this team has taught me is movin' on don't mean forgetting, just means you can look back and be happy of the time you had with the people you've lost."

It's silent for a while, their breathing the only sound in the room. Mick finally looks up to see Ray's shocked face starring back at him. "That was....that was really thoughtful and deep."

Mick can feel the heat spreading across his face. "Shut it haircut." 

Ray does shut his mouth but the wide grin splitting his face is screaming " ** _YOU BIG SOFTY!!!"_**  

"Anyway... we better head join the team." Mich says in an attempt to change the subject. 

"Yeah okay." Was the answer he got as he stood to head back to his room, only to be stopped by a hand gripping his wrist. "Thank you Mick, really I mean it, knowing you don't blame me...it makes it easier, even if I still blame myself."  

Mick takes a deep breath and lets it out in a long sigh before deciding he may as well keep with this whole honestly thing, at least with Haircut, at least for now. "Yeah well, you're one of the main reason I've been able to move on as much as I have, may as well return the favor." He's shocked a second later as long lean arms wrap around his waist from the back and he feels Ray's chest pressed against his back. It only lasts a second but the heat lingers even after he's pulled away.

"Sorry, I just..." Rays cut off as Mick turns on his heal and pulls the younger man to him in a half hug with one arm hooked around his neck. 

"You need anything, you have anymore nightmares, you can come to me." It's meant to come out as casual but even Mick can hear the emotion seeping into his voice. He wants to be the person Ray can come to when he needs someone, the one he can count on to keep this just between the two of them. 

He's quick to turn and head for the door before Ray can say anything more, the younger man is standing stock still with a look of pure shock on his face. 

"Just don't make a big deal of it...with the team." Mick says right before the doors slide open to let him out. He turns and sees Palmer looking like the happiest man in the world as he nods his head quickly before the doors slide shut behind him and he walks back to his own room, the feeling of Ray's chest still making his skin tingle, haircut had been hard. He had felt it when the other man had hugged him from behind and then again when he had returned it. That feeling wasn't going away anytime soon.

 

Back in Ray's room the genius flops down on his bed and the happy, giddy feeling in his chest only got stronger as he found his sheets still held Mick's scent, a mix of smoke, oil and the faintest hint of his body wash. He's so caught up in breathing in the scent and commiting it to memory as he relives the last few hours that it takes him longer then it should have to turn to face the ceiling, something nagging at the back of his mind.

"Hey Gidean?" he asks the empty room.

"Yes Dr. Palmer?" The A.I.s calm voice filters in, carefully void of any of the emotion she usually has.

"The rooms are sound proof, why was Mick able to hear me in the first place?"

"Well..."

"Gidean?" Ray questions, sitting up in his bed to give an accusing stare at the ceiling.

"I may have had something to do with that. I knew what your dream was about and thought that Mr. Rory would be the perfect person to help you."The A.I. finishes sounding as if she's dreading Palmer's answer.

"Well you were right on that, it did help." Ray tells her, thinking back to the way Mick had pulled him in close, the way he said he didn't blame him for what happened with no doubt in his voice. It had helped, he still felt the weight of guilt in his chest but it had lessened to where he could breath better at least.

"Thank you Gidean."

"Of course Dr. Palmer." Well she certainly sounded proud of herself. 

Ray sat for a moment thinking about earlier when they had first woken up together, of the state both had been in, then just before Mick had left and had half hugged him, Mick had still been exited. Ray had felt it brush against his hip there was no denying it. An idea struck him through the rush of all the thoughts in his head.

"Hey Gidean?"

"Yes Dr.Palmer?"

"I give you permission to show Mick any dream I have about him." 

"You're sure Dr.Palmer?" 

"If my theory is correct then...yeah, but only Mick and only the ones about him, okay. If he wants to see." This was a risk, If he was right then this could lead to him and Mick spending alot more time in his bed and getting the chance to explore the impressive package Mick was hiding under those sweats. If he was wrong then he was risking the budding trust and friendship that had started between them. He had to try though, he had seen the look in Mick's eyes last night, when the other man thought he couldn't see. There had been something there, something for him. Weather it was simply lust or want or something more, he had to go for it, he knew he wanted Mick, had for a long time so if this was his chance he was going to grab it and run. Besides if Mick didn't feel the same way he could always not watch the more heated dreams he starred in and Ray could play it off as just a dream, something he couldn't control. He would just have to hope it didn't come to that.

With his plan in motion he took one more breath of the scent still clinging to his pillow and got up to get ready for the day.  

 

 

 

**Author's Note:**

> I know there are a lot of mistakes and it's kinda rushed but eh  
>  Thanks for reading!!  
> Comments are very welcome and kudos are love! Hope you enjoyed it.


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